A duty to serve and participate as elections
approach
By Michael J Morris
More than 25 years ago now I was discussing with my friend Frank the number of years he had served on the local school board. Frank told me he had been a member for 18 years.
"Why so long?, I asked him.
"Because Mr. Shoup told us we had a duty to serve," Frank replied. J. M. Shoup, a veteran of both World War 1 and World War 2 had been the elementary school principal and a long time member of the town council.
With a municipal election coming on November 15, where both council and board of education will be elected, and a federal election slated for 2015, it might do us well to ponder our duty to serve participate in the political process.
Let me just clarify duty to serve as I see it before going any further. I came across a quote from Tim Fargo recently, the author of Alphabet Success: Keeping it Simple that seemed to sum it up: "Leadership is service not position".
The emphasis is on service! Today, at least at the national level it seems more like the maxim is more in tune with Lord Acton's dictum that "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely".
In recent municipal elections here, the turnout has been dismal, hovering at around no more than 30% of eligible voters turning out to exercise their right (duty) to vote, even though in the last election, there were a large number of candidates seeking office.
At the federal level in the riding of Kootenay-Columbia, it has been a Conservative (Reform, Canadian Alliance) stronghold for about 20 years, but hopefully this time around, the Liberals and New Democrats will field strong candidates.
What about us, who choose not to be a candidate? Are we going to become active and openly support a candidate in the municipal, board of education and federal election? Are we even going to bother to vote?
When I was a boy, growing up in the Northern Ontario town of Chapleau, people took their politics seriously. And often they exposed themselves to great risk if they happened to support the party that lost. They could lose their jobs. And many did, not only in my own community, but in others across this vast and magnificent land.
However, they saw it as their duty to serve and participate, and they did. They accepted the sometimes high risks associated with political involvement. And you may think politics is brutal today. It is, no question and at the national level is permeated with "hate".
In Saskatchewan, as a young newspaper reporter in the 1960s, it seemed that everyone saw it as their sacred duty to be involved. At the time, the province was the home of two of the giants of Canadian politics, John Diefenbaker and T.C. 'Tommy' Douglas.
Mr. Diefenbaker, a Progressive Conservative, served as prime minister of Canada and Mr. Douglas as CCF-NDP premier of the province. Both were outstanding examples of persons who clearly saw it as their duty to serve and participate in the affairs of their nation.
And so, what about us in these times. As has been said by others including Tommy Douglas -- we have learned to fly through the air like a bird, swim under the sea like a fish, burrow beneath the earth like a mole. If only we could learn to walk our nation as real people, seeing and accepting our duty to serve and to participate focused on things which bring us together rather than those which divide us, without hate and the politics of division -- what a paradise our nation would be!
My email is mj.morris@live.ca
Full disclosure: I am not now and never have been a member of the Citizens for a Livable Cranbrook Society; however, I did conduct a workshop for its members for which I was paid.
By Michael J Morris
More than 25 years ago now I was discussing with my friend Frank the number of years he had served on the local school board. Frank told me he had been a member for 18 years.
"Why so long?, I asked him.
"Because Mr. Shoup told us we had a duty to serve," Frank replied. J. M. Shoup, a veteran of both World War 1 and World War 2 had been the elementary school principal and a long time member of the town council.
With a municipal election coming on November 15, where both council and board of education will be elected, and a federal election slated for 2015, it might do us well to ponder our duty to serve participate in the political process.
Let me just clarify duty to serve as I see it before going any further. I came across a quote from Tim Fargo recently, the author of Alphabet Success: Keeping it Simple that seemed to sum it up: "Leadership is service not position".
The emphasis is on service! Today, at least at the national level it seems more like the maxim is more in tune with Lord Acton's dictum that "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely".
In recent municipal elections here, the turnout has been dismal, hovering at around no more than 30% of eligible voters turning out to exercise their right (duty) to vote, even though in the last election, there were a large number of candidates seeking office.
At the federal level in the riding of Kootenay-Columbia, it has been a Conservative (Reform, Canadian Alliance) stronghold for about 20 years, but hopefully this time around, the Liberals and New Democrats will field strong candidates.
What about us, who choose not to be a candidate? Are we going to become active and openly support a candidate in the municipal, board of education and federal election? Are we even going to bother to vote?
When I was a boy, growing up in the Northern Ontario town of Chapleau, people took their politics seriously. And often they exposed themselves to great risk if they happened to support the party that lost. They could lose their jobs. And many did, not only in my own community, but in others across this vast and magnificent land.
However, they saw it as their duty to serve and participate, and they did. They accepted the sometimes high risks associated with political involvement. And you may think politics is brutal today. It is, no question and at the national level is permeated with "hate".
In Saskatchewan, as a young newspaper reporter in the 1960s, it seemed that everyone saw it as their sacred duty to be involved. At the time, the province was the home of two of the giants of Canadian politics, John Diefenbaker and T.C. 'Tommy' Douglas.
Mr. Diefenbaker, a Progressive Conservative, served as prime minister of Canada and Mr. Douglas as CCF-NDP premier of the province. Both were outstanding examples of persons who clearly saw it as their duty to serve and participate in the affairs of their nation.
And so, what about us in these times. As has been said by others including Tommy Douglas -- we have learned to fly through the air like a bird, swim under the sea like a fish, burrow beneath the earth like a mole. If only we could learn to walk our nation as real people, seeing and accepting our duty to serve and to participate focused on things which bring us together rather than those which divide us, without hate and the politics of division -- what a paradise our nation would be!
My email is mj.morris@live.ca
Full disclosure: I am not now and never have been a member of the Citizens for a Livable Cranbrook Society; however, I did conduct a workshop for its members for which I was paid.
Just to add a little more to the musings, T.C. Douglas served as the MP for the Weyburn riding for 9 years - being one of the first CCF politicians elected to serve in Ottawa. He was also the leader of the party for a number of years. Ah, my hometown, now famous for two men from that city. TC Douglas and Graham DeLaet.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments I have received about our duty to serve and participate. It indicates an interest not only in Cranbrook but at federal level too. And to Joe, delighted to learn Weyburn has two famous people. LOL
ReplyDelete